Chapter 3 of A Counterfeit Presentment is here in full — 441 sentences across 89 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
A keeper or guardian of historical records and memories.
Chapter III
Chapter 3 of A Counterfeit Presentment is here in full — 441 sentences across 89 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
_Constance._--"Oh! I thought you had been abroad." She speaks with a slow, absent, earnest accent, regarding him, as always, with a look of wistful bewilderment. _Bartlett_, struggling uneasily for his habitual lightness.--"I'm sorry to disappoint you, Miss Wyatt. I will go abroad as soon as possible.
Chapter 3 of A Counterfeit Presentment is here in full — 441 sentences across 89 reading sections, with audio for every sentence and word.
Reading 1/88 · 5 reading units · Lines 1–5
These definitions explain words found in the current reading and keep every example grounded in its original sentence.
Oxford-style entry order: headword, part of speech, US IPA, concise definition, contextual example, and audio.
United States explorer who accompanied Peary's expedition to the North Pole and who led many other Arctic trips (1875-1946)
confusion resulting from failure to understand
From this reading “She speaks with a slow, absent, earnest accent, regarding him, as always, with a look of wistful bewilderment.”
fail to meet the hopes or expectations of
From this reading “_Bartlett_, struggling uneasily for his habitual lightness.--"I'm sorry to disappoint you, Miss Wyatt.”
commonly used or practiced; usual
From this reading “_Bartlett_, struggling uneasily for his habitual lightness.--"I'm sorry to disappoint you, Miss Wyatt.”
a feeling of joy and pride
From this reading “_Bartlett_, struggling uneasily for his habitual lightness.--"I'm sorry to disappoint you, Miss Wyatt.”
with anxiety or apprehension
From this reading “_Bartlett_, struggling uneasily for his habitual lightness.--"I'm sorry to disappoint you, Miss Wyatt.”
showing pensive sadness
From this reading “She speaks with a slow, absent, earnest accent, regarding him, as always, with a look of wistful bewilderment.”
English architect (1746-1813)
From this reading “_Bartlett_, struggling uneasily for his habitual lightness.--"I'm sorry to disappoint you, Miss Wyatt.”
English keeps certain words together, and knowing the pair is worth more than knowing each word alone. Every partnership below was counted across our whole published library, and earns its place by appearing far more often than two unrelated words of the same frequency would.
Shown as this reading writes them, with the form the library counts, what kind of pairing it is, and how often it occurs.
In this reading “I will go abroad as soon as possible.”
Every word in these five lines is listed here, and every one of them can be played on its own.
Dictionary details are shown only when verified; these are not licensed Oxford entries.
used before a singular noun to mean one of a group, when it is not a particular one
From this reading She speaks with a slow, absent, earnest accent, regarding him, as always, with a look of wistful bewilderment.
to or in a foreign country
From this reading I thought you had been abroad."
not being in a specified place
From this reading She speaks with a slow, absent, earnest accent, regarding him, as always, with a look of wistful bewilderment.
distinctive manner of oral expression
From this reading She speaks with a slow, absent, earnest accent, regarding him, as always, with a look of wistful bewilderment.
at all times; all the time and on every occasion
From this reading She speaks with a slow, absent, earnest accent, regarding him, as always, with a look of wistful bewilderment.
at the same time that; because; in the way that
From this reading She speaks with a slow, absent, earnest accent, regarding him, as always, with a look of wistful bewilderment.
United States explorer who accompanied Peary's expedition to the North Pole and who led many other Arctic trips (1875-1946)
From this reading _Bartlett_, struggling uneasily for his habitual lightness.--"I'm sorry to disappoint you, Miss Wyatt.
the past participle of “be”
From this reading I thought you had been abroad."
confusion resulting from failure to understand
From this reading She speaks with a slow, absent, earnest accent, regarding him, as always, with a look of wistful bewilderment.
a lake in southeastern Germany on the northern side of the Swiss Alps; forms part of the Rhine River
From this reading _Constance._--"Oh!
fail to meet the hopes or expectations of
From this reading _Bartlett_, struggling uneasily for his habitual lightness.--"I'm sorry to disappoint you, Miss Wyatt.
characterized by a firm and humorless belief in the validity of your opinions
From this reading She speaks with a slow, absent, earnest accent, regarding him, as always, with a look of wistful bewilderment.
intended to be given to, or used by, somebody
From this reading _Bartlett_, struggling uneasily for his habitual lightness.--"I'm sorry to disappoint you, Miss Wyatt.
change location; move, travel, or proceed, also metaphorically
From this reading I will go abroad as soon as possible.
commonly used or practiced; usual
From this reading _Bartlett_, struggling uneasily for his habitual lightness.--"I'm sorry to disappoint you, Miss Wyatt.
the past form of “have”, used to form the past perfect
From this reading I thought you had been abroad."
the male already mentioned, as the object of a verb or preposition
From this reading She speaks with a slow, absent, earnest accent, regarding him, as always, with a look of wistful bewilderment.
belonging to a man, boy, or male animal already mentioned
From this reading _Bartlett_, struggling uneasily for his habitual lightness.--"I'm sorry to disappoint you, Miss Wyatt.
the person speaking or writing, as the subject of the verb
From this reading I thought you had been abroad."
Dictionary entry pending editorial verification. Tap Listen to hear the word.
From this reading _Bartlett_, struggling uneasily for his habitual lightness.--"I'm sorry to disappoint you, Miss Wyatt.
a feeling of joy and pride
From this reading _Bartlett_, struggling uneasily for his habitual lightness.--"I'm sorry to disappoint you, Miss Wyatt.
perceive with attention; direct one's gaze towards
From this reading She speaks with a slow, absent, earnest accent, regarding him, as always, with a look of wistful bewilderment.
fail to perceive or to catch with the senses or the mind
From this reading _Bartlett_, struggling uneasily for his habitual lightness.--"I'm sorry to disappoint you, Miss Wyatt.
belonging to, or connected with, somebody or something
From this reading She speaks with a slow, absent, earnest accent, regarding him, as always, with a look of wistful bewilderment.
a midwestern state in north central United States in the Great Lakes region
From this reading _Constance._--"Oh!
capable of happening or existing
From this reading I will go abroad as soon as possible.
-ing form of “regard” — deem to be
From this reading She speaks with a slow, absent, earnest accent, regarding him, as always, with a look of wistful bewilderment.
a woman, girl, or female animal already mentioned, as the subject
From this reading She speaks with a slow, absent, earnest accent, regarding him, as always, with a look of wistful bewilderment.
not moving quickly; taking a comparatively long time
From this reading She speaks with a slow, absent, earnest accent, regarding him, as always, with a look of wistful bewilderment.
in the near future
From this reading I will go abroad as soon as possible.
feeling or expressing regret or sorrow or a sense of loss over something done or undone
From this reading _Bartlett_, struggling uneasily for his habitual lightness.--"I'm sorry to disappoint you, Miss Wyatt.
third-person singular of “speak” — express in speech
From this reading She speaks with a slow, absent, earnest accent, regarding him, as always, with a look of wistful bewilderment.
engaged in a struggle to overcome especially poverty or obscurity
From this reading _Bartlett_, struggling uneasily for his habitual lightness.--"I'm sorry to disappoint you, Miss Wyatt.
the content of cognition; the main thing you are thinking about
From this reading I thought you had been abroad."
used before the base form of a verb to make the infinitive
From this reading _Bartlett_, struggling uneasily for his habitual lightness.--"I'm sorry to disappoint you, Miss Wyatt.
with anxiety or apprehension
From this reading _Bartlett_, struggling uneasily for his habitual lightness.--"I'm sorry to disappoint you, Miss Wyatt.
used to talk about the future, or about willingness
From this reading I will go abroad as soon as possible.
showing pensive sadness
From this reading She speaks with a slow, absent, earnest accent, regarding him, as always, with a look of wistful bewilderment.
in the company of; together with
From this reading She speaks with a slow, absent, earnest accent, regarding him, as always, with a look of wistful bewilderment.
English architect (1746-1813)
From this reading _Bartlett_, struggling uneasily for his habitual lightness.--"I'm sorry to disappoint you, Miss Wyatt.
the person or people being spoken to
From this reading I thought you had been abroad."
Chapter 3 of A Counterfeit Presentment by William Dean Howells holds 441 sentences, grouped into 89 reading sections of at most 5 sentences. The text is the source edition, unabridged, and the chapter records which sentences cover which part of the work so that nothing is dropped. Every word can be tapped for its pronunciation and dictionary entry.
Chapter 3 holds 441 sentences of A Counterfeit Presentment, unabridged, divided into 89 reading sections.
This page carries chapter 3 of A Counterfeit Presentment by William Dean Howells exactly as it stands in the source edition, without abridgement. It runs to 441 sentences, grouped into 89 sections of at most 5 sentences so that a reader can take the chapter in steady, finishable pieces. The chapter also stores a coverage record mapping every one of its sentences to a part of the work, which is how the edition demonstrates that no line was dropped.
Work through the 89 sections in order, replaying any sentence and tapping unfamiliar words for their entries.
Each of the 89 sections in this chapter is short enough to read once, hear once, and then re-read with the vocabulary in view. Tapping a word plays it alone and opens its dictionary entry with IPA, part of speech and meaning, so the reader is never forced to guess a pronunciation from spelling. Working section by section keeps a long chapter from becoming an undifferentiated wall of text, which is the usual reason a reader abandons a work of this period.
Yes — every sentence and every individual word in chapter 3 can be played aloud in United States English.
Audio covers the whole chapter: any sentence can be played, and any single word within it can be played on its own. The voice uses United States English. For a work of this period that matters, because spelling is an unreliable guide to pronunciation for vocabulary that has fallen out of daily use, and a learner who guesses wrong tends to keep the error. Hearing the word in its own sentence, and then alone, settles it.
Common questions about reading A Counterfeit Presentment by William Dean Howells on this page, its source edition and its audio.
Yes. All 3071 sentences of Project Gutenberg eBook #43469 are kept, with a record of which sentences cover which part.
Project Gutenberg eBook #43469, unabridged. The Project Gutenberg header, footer and licence are removed.
About 255 minutes of reading across 615 sections of 5 sentences each, at an unhurried pace.
How to work through A Counterfeit Presentment section by section, using the audio and the tap-to-define vocabulary.
Choose one of the 7 chapters of A Counterfeit Presentment to begin.
Each section holds 5 sentences; read it once through.
Play the section aloud, then tap any unfamiliar word for its entry.
Words and structures a reader meets early in A Counterfeit Presentment, each tappable for pronunciation and meaning.
